FF:IM095 Curator as/and Medium I - Course Information

IM095 Curatorship: the story of the profession

Extent and Intensity

1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Marika Kupková, Ph.D. (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Jana Horáková, Ph.D. (deputy)

Guaranteed by

doc. Mgr. Jana Horáková, Ph.D.
Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Bc. Jitka Leflíková
Supplier department: Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts

Timetable

Thu 14:00–15:40 N51

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/100, only registered: 0/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

• Theory of Interactive Media (programme FF, N-HS)
• Theory of Interactive Media (programme FF, N-OT) (3)

Course objectives

Curatorship is a profession through which we learn a lot about the development of the modern and contemporary art, changes in the culture and society. It helps us understand contemporary art concepts and philosophy. It gives evidence in the form of social structures and power practices in artistic operation; interpretation of art and culture, or more general cultural and social themes. The “rules” of the curator profession depend on the changes in the status and functions of galleries and museums and on the current forms of art presentations, currently leading to greater heterogeneity and deinstitutionalisation. The lecture focuses on the history of this profession from mid-1950s to the present, with special emphasis on the last three decades that started with the abolishment of the centralised and state-organised culture. We are mostly interested in its local specifics, which we compare in the Central European context, namely with Slovak, Polish, Austrian and German cultures. Selected curating approaches and exhibition projects typical for the time period and cultures will be presented, with consideration to the social and economic relations of curatorship. In the form of excursions, we will learn about the important actors of curatorship, or the contemporary artistic discourse. The objective of the course is to introduce the social and historical development of art, culture and society through the profession of a curator; at the same time, the students will be provided with argumentation tools for a critical reflection of contemporary art, especially exhibitions and related curating activities, so that the students can put them in the historical, social and cultural context.

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Summarise the development of presentation and socialisation of art from mid-1950s to the present
- Describe the institutional structure of distinguished gallery and museum institutions in Central Europe
- Define influential methodological and interpretational curating concepts from 1970s to the present and name their representatives
- Characterise the usual demands on the curator profession within contemporary art operation
- Critically evaluate specific exhibition titles and the activity of exhibition institutions
- Be aware of printed and on-line media dedicated to criticism in art

Syllabus

• - Development of the curator profession and preparation of exhibitions from the chronological and geo-cultural aspects. General overview.
• - Curatorship and local specifics in Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic.
• - Distinguished European exhibition or curator institutions, their categorisation and status.
• - State and culture, cultural policy in relation to the art operation.
• - Exhibitions and shows of contemporary art representing 1980s and 1990s in Czechoslovakia. Transformation of the art operation and curatorship after 1989.
• - Exhibitions and shows of contemporary art representing 2000s and 2010s. Global trends.
• - Influential curator personalities and historiography of curatorship.
• - “The Avant-garde Model”: influential art-historical and curating approaches.
• - Tour of an exhibition with a curator’s commentary.
• - Argumentation tools of art criticism, current publishing platforms.

Literature

• O'DOHERTY, Brian. Uvnitř bílé krychle: ideologie galerijního prostoru. Praha: tranzit.cz, 2014.
• KESNER, Ladislav. Vizuální teorie: současné anglo-americké myšlení o výtvarných dílech. Jinočany: H & H, 1997.
• BENNETT, Tony. The Birth of the Museum: history, theory, politics. London: Routledge, 1995.
• GROYS, Boris. Gesamtkunstwerk Stalin: rozpolcená kultura v Sovětském svazu ; Komunistické postskriptum. Praha: Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze, Vědecko-výzkumné pracoviště, 2010.
• KROUPA, Jiří. Metody dějin umění; metodologie dějin umění 2. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2010.
• Lorente, Jesus Pedro. Cathedrals of Urban Modernity: The First Museums of Contemporary Art, 1800-1930. Ashgate, 1998
• BOURDIEU, Pierre. Pravidla umění: geneze a struktura literárního pole. Brno: Host, 2010. Teoretická knihovna.
• OBRIST, Hans Ulrich. Stručná historie kurátorství. Kutná Hora: Galerie Středočeského kraje, 2012.
• DICKIE, George. Co je umění? Institucionální definice. Aluze, 2008, roč. 11, č. 2, s. 81–90. Dostupné z .
• O’BRIEN, Melanie. Art Speaking: Towards an Understanding of the Language of Curating [online]. July 16, 2005. Dostupné z .
• KESNER, Ladislav. Muzeum umění v digitální době: vnímání obrazů a prožitek umění v soudobé společnosti. Praha: Argo, 2000.
• POSPISZYL, Tomáš. Asociativní dějepis umění: poválečné umění napříč generacemi a médii : (koláž, intermediální a konceptuální umění, performance a film). Praha: Tranzit.cz, 2014.
• ORIŠKOVÁ, Mária (ed). Efekt muzea: predmety, praktiky, publikum. Antológia textov anglo–americkej kritickej teorie múzea. 1. vyd. Bratislava: Afad Press, 2006.
• POSPISZYL, Tomáš (ed.). Před obrazem: antologie americké výtvarné teorie a kritiky. Praha: OSVU, 1998.
• KROUPA, Jiří. Školy dějin umění: metodologie umění 1. Brno: Masarykova Univerzita, Filozofická fakulta, 2007.
• MARTINON, Jean-Paul. The curatorial: a philosophy of curating. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.

Teaching methods

Reviewing lecture with a commentary of selected case studies

Assessment methods

Real PC test and at least 50% participation in lectures

Language of instruction

Czech

Further Comments

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
  
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